At Shipleys we strive to offer a tailored experience right from the very first phone call

Contractors/Locums

Majority of those who wish to start contract work want to do so for the perceived tax benefits. Whilst tax savings can be significant given the right advice, those looking to move to self employment need to be wary of the many pitfalls – IR35and status issues, income shifting etc to name but a few.

At Shipleys we will help you make the transition from employment to self-employment as painless as possible. We will deal with all the tax and accounts issues that need resolving and we promise to do it swiftly. We will explain honestly and carefully the pros and cons of self employment/sole tradership v. trading through a company and help you decide the best way for you.

If you are a locum, or thinking about becoming one in the near future, talk to us for clear concise advice – we deal with hundreds of locums/ IT contractors each year.

Free contractor/locum start-up advice

Paying too much tax? If you haven’t done any planning then you probably are paying over the odds to the Chancellor. Call us for a free tax health-check.

Sole trader v. company structure – the pros and cons

IR35 – this affects all locums/contractors trading via a company. Is your business contract IR35 proof? How can you minimise the risk? HMRC is continually attacking Personal Service Companies, how can you stay one step ahead?

Expenses – are you claiming everything you possibly can?

Buying a car – which is the best way, personally or through a company?

What with cyber-snooping being all the rage these days it seems the taxman is getting in on the act too.

HM Revenue & Customs has now fully unleashed its super-computer, costing over £100m and many years to make, to identify those who may have paid too little tax.

The powerful system, benignly dubbed “Connect”, now automatically gathers information from a myriad of government and corporate sources to create a detailed profile of each taxpayer’s financial position. Where this differs from the information provided by the taxpayer, the account is flagged up and subject to further possible investigation.

The system’s data-hoarding does not just stop at the income people have received from work and investment. It also amasses data from the digital footprint left by taxpayers online.

It collates data from diverse sources such as Airbnb and eBay, as well as obtaining anonymised information on all Visa and Mastercard transactions, enabling it to identify areas of likely underpayments which it can then target further.

HMRC also has powers to request one-off bulk data from third parties where there may be particular cause for concern. Insurance companies, hospitals and dentists supplied information to assist with the Tax Health Plan, for instance.

For those with investment properties, it can also access Land Registry records to see houses purchased/sold to check against information on a tax return. In addition, further sources enable it to determine if properties are being rented out and whether that income has been declared. Crucially, it can also determine if someone is likely to be able to afford such properties, or whether they are suspected of having used previously undeclared income or savings.

Particularly striking is the gathering of information from social media. HMRC are now monitoring online posts about holidays, parties and purchases. They may wish to ask questions where they do not feel lifestyle fits with an individual’s reported income.

The tax profession has raised concerns that HMRCs growing reliance on automated systems could mean an increasing number of innocent taxpayers facing investigation. Whilst many of the leads generated by Connect’s data collection maybe worth following up, a proportion will be unfounded causing unnecessary stress and anxiety to those targeted. A surface analysis of data or online information could quite easily lead to misinterpretation. An exaggeration over twitter or Facebook, for example, could paint a highly inaccurate picture resulting in false leads.

Shipleys Tax has many years of protecting taxpayers and succeeding in tax investigations with HMRC, if you need help please contact us 0114 275 6292 or email info@shipleystax.com.

What HMRC can find out about you

UK & overseas bank accounts, pensions: From 2017 HMRC will receive information from banks in more than 60 countries.

Web browsing and email records: Under the ‘Snoopers Charter’ HMRC will be able to access individual’s digital information

Earnings: From any employer, including those you have worked for casually, or on an ad-hoc basis. This includes any company benefits received. It can also access child benefit and maintenance payments through the child support agency

If your child is under 12 and you’re not working or don’t earn enough to pay National Insurance contributions, Child Benefit can help you qualify for National Insurance credits.These credits count towards your State Pension. They protect it by making sure you don’t have gaps in your National Insurance record.

Retirement may be the last thing on your mind when you’re looking after a new baby, but what you do now could have a big impact on your future finances.

Despite what you might think, no one automatically gets the full amount of State Pension when they retire. You’ll only get the full amount if you’ve paid, or been credited with, National Insurance contributions for 35 years.

The key word here is ‘credited’. Even if you’re not working while looking after your baby, you’ll get National Insurance credits when you claim Child Benefit until your youngest child is 12. The credits are automatically added to your National Insurance account when you claim Child Benefit, so you don’t need to do anything.

The Finance Bill 2016 finally received Royal Assent on 15 September, enacting proposals announced in the 2016 Budget, Autumn Statement 2015 and Summer Budget 2015. Amongst other things, Finance Act 2016 includes provisions relating to income tax rates and allowances; restrictions on tax reliefs for travel and subsistence expenses (in effect since April 2016), the reduction of the lifetime allowance on pension contributions from £1.25m to £1m (again, effective from 6 April 2016); and the reduction in the main rate of corporation tax to 17% for financial year 2020.

The Act is based on George Osbourne’s final Budget. The annual Finance Bill usually receives Royal Assent in early to mid-July. This year’s extensive delay has been largely blamed on the Brexit referendum followed by the summer parliamentary recess.

The Finance Act 2016 can be found online here or alternatively you contact us for more information.